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Post by believeitornot on Oct 14, 2007 9:12:53 GMT -5
I hope this generates a lot of discussion. What if the series had not been cancelled? What sorts of plots or stories would you have liked to have seen? Keeping in mind that the original premise of the show was someone trying to deal with this wierd suit and how it impacted his life and his real life problems and any other human conditions that the other leads might be involved in.
In Who's Wu, didn't Ralph say he had a sibling? What if that sibling came to visit? What if there was already tension between the two and trying to hide the suit just adds to it.
I figure that the producers probably would not have gone this route considering that Kevin just disappeared. I would have liked to see some little Hinkleys running around. How would Pam and Ralph have dealt with a kid, the suit, Bill and her law career?
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Post by Videofox on Oct 15, 2007 17:20:56 GMT -5
If the original show would have continued for several more seasons, I am sure Ralph would become more and more comfortable and effective with the suit. He had already started showing signs of this by the third season. He would have started making ten-point landings, which to me would have ruined it right there. The crash landings may have started to get old, but to me they were the running joke that defined this show. As writing styles for TV changed over the years, so would the style of plots. More drama dealing with Kevin and his (apparent) separation from Ralph, possibly conflicting with any children Ralph and Pam would have had by then. (In my fanfic-in-the-making, Ralph had the suit for twenty years and voluntarily retired to concentrate on his family, which consisted of a teenage daughter and preteen son, neither of which knew about the suit growing up but did find out shortly before Ralph's retirement...and they thought it was cool.) If the show continued, Ralph would no doubt be using the suit to investigate Pam's cases, which Pam might even consider "cheating" -- until she hit a brick wall and needed help. This would probably continue until Pam makes Judge...and then would rather make decisions by standard court procedure and tells Ralph to keep out of her courtly business. (That's just the way I see her character...fiercely independent.) Of course, Ralph would constantly go behind her back, especially in cases where she might be threatened. It would cause a riff between them occasionally, but she always forgives him in the end anyway. It also seems Ralph would go through a Beck phase and become arrogant, a sort of "suit addiction." He did show signs of that from almost the beginning, but I like to think that Ralph would always be better than that when push comes to shove and he would realize his mistake. Someone may have to be hurt -- or worse -- for that to happen, but I can't see Ralph becoming someone so corrupt that the greenguys would inflict forced retirement on him. Another element I forsee in the continued series also manifests itself in my pending fanfic...that as technology becomes more and more advanced, everyone and their uncle is carrying around miniature cameras and camera phones, so that it becomes more and more difficult for Ralph to operate. In today's world, a "card-carrying nutburger" running around in a cape and tights would have his image posted all over the Internet within an hour. He may become more reluctant to use the suit, a risk that may lead to his voluntarily retirement. He has a family and reputation (probably as principal or other educational field) to worry about now and can't become the center of what would surely become a scandal. This, of course, frustrates Bill to no end as his whole successful career -- creating and running a special-ops type department -- is based on the suit. After the Cold War ended, Bill probably found little place for him in his chosen field and uses his suit-given clout to create an X-Files-like division to keep himself in the game. He would constantly fight any suggestions to retire, despite occasional doubts about his abilities and the realization that he is getting older. He might even go through a depression phase as a result, probably to the point of splitting up with Ralph (temporarily, of course) just to prove to himself that he's still "got it." He would probably marry someone, but I can't see it lasting very long. I've always been an advocate that any details about the greenguys be kept a mystery, but seeing another suit wearer would probably happen if the show continued (and as special effects became cheaper). On the downside of this, I also see the show moving more and more toward fantasy and sci-fi plots which would ultimately kill it. I don't mind if the show delved into those elements once or twice a season, as the entire premise is centered around extraterrestrial life. If UFO's are real in the GAH universe, so could many other things that normal humans consider legend or fiction. It's just that having the suit allows Ralph to see and experience things that we mere mortals could not. Heh...this thread kinda reminds me of that special Monkees reunion show that came out in the 90s. It featured all four members and was written as if the show was never cancelled, billed as it's 600th episode or something like that. They were still single, still living in the same house, driving the same car, and still a struggling band willing to play for birthday parties. They even complained that the same plots were being used over and over.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Oct 16, 2007 8:18:05 GMT -5
Good thinking, videofox. I have to agree that I see a lot of those same ideas coming to the forefront as the show continued and needed to adapt to maintain the series. Of course, it need not have happened either. Some shows stayed the same and were on for years.
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Post by herald7 on Oct 12, 2011 9:44:18 GMT -5
It also seems Ralph would go through a Beck phase and become arrogant, a sort of "suit addiction." He did show signs of that from almost the beginning, but I like to think that Ralph would always be better than that when push comes to shove and he would realize his mistake. Someone may have to be hurt -- or worse -- for that to happen, but I can't see Ralph becoming someone so corrupt that the greenguys would inflict forced retirement on him. I've also thought about Ralph going through a darker phase with the suit. But at the same time, I think Bill's got a lot of jealousy in him that he wasn't chosen for the suit and that in general he's never appreciated in his career. We've seen him being tempted to the suit (and technically Ralph) for power or wealth, and not really having enough respect for the suit's power. Ralph always ends up serving as his conscience to bring him back to reality. I think Bill could somehow take his ambitions too far, but Ralph would be the one to suffer, either through danger or corruption. And Bill would have to realize he's potentially ruined the good part of himself.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Oct 12, 2011 20:08:31 GMT -5
I agree that Bill needed Ralph to be the angel on his shoulder, but I also think that Ralph could use that from Bill. The mind power is one that comes to mind. Had he perfected that or been able to continue using it, I think Bill would have been able to help him back from that edge.
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Post by herald7 on Oct 13, 2011 20:21:14 GMT -5
I agree that Bill needed Ralph to be the angel on his shoulder, but I also think that Ralph could use that from Bill. The mind power is one that comes to mind. Had he perfected that or been able to continue using it, I think Bill would have been able to help him back from that edge. Yeah we talked about the mind power thing on another thread a little bit. I think it would have been interesting if the mind power had come back at some point but Ralph was the only one who realized it and hesitated to share it with Pam and Bill.
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Post by herald7 on Oct 21, 2011 22:33:09 GMT -5
You know another thing. We're always talking about how the suit symbolizes power and the possibility of corruption. But there's another way to look at it too. That if Ralph was truly ever corrupted, it's possible the suit would stop working. I mean we know it only works for Ralph and he just assumes it's attuned to his metabolism. But it's just as likely the suit could be attuned to his strong sense of integrity and good intentions. And if that was gone, the suit wouldn't know him anymore.
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Post by prometheus74 on Oct 23, 2011 11:49:20 GMT -5
An interesting concept. Herald7.
So perhaps it doesn't just work on Ralph, after all. Perhaps it would've worked on Mother Theresa, for example! ;D
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Post by herald7 on Oct 23, 2011 13:59:56 GMT -5
Lol, now THAT would be the Greatest American Heroine.
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Post by prometheus74 on Oct 23, 2011 21:43:37 GMT -5
Except that she was Indian------The Greatest Indian Heroine! ;D
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Post by herald7 on Oct 23, 2011 23:25:27 GMT -5
Except that she was Indian------The Greatest Indian Heroine! ;D ....Oh sheesh, how did I miss that?! Lol, thanks.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Oct 24, 2011 20:26:24 GMT -5
That's a neat concept, but I think we learned from JJ Beck that the suit doesn't seem to have a sense of its owner. The greenguys were the ones who ultimately returned and took the suit. I think it's a neat concept and would have been better than the way it played out in HEROINE, but I think the mythology of the suit was set up somewhat.
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Post by herald7 on Oct 24, 2011 21:26:43 GMT -5
That's a neat concept, but I think we learned from JJ Beck that the suit doesn't seem to have a sense of its owner. The greenguys were the ones who ultimately returned and took the suit. I think it's a neat concept and would have been better than the way it played out in HEROINE, but I think the mythology of the suit was set up somewhat. Well the thing is, and this is just my interpretation, I felt like the green guys realized they'd made a mistake in their rationale for choosing Beck. There was no indication that Beck was a particular nice or concerned guy before the suit. More that he was just very ambitious. And maybe the green guys thought that would be enough motivation to improve the world, but in reality ambition does not guarantee heroism. So when they tried again, they could have wanted to ensure that whoever was "hosting" the suit would have to possess more heroic characteristics, such as integrity, in order to utilize its power. All just my own fun speculation of course, hehe.
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Post by prometheus74 on Oct 25, 2011 1:50:27 GMT -5
Good point! Boy, did the Greenguys ever mess up when they picked J.J. Beck! They really screwed up big time! Which shows that they may be technologically advanced, but are far from infallible. (Perhaps the Greenguys had been partaking (for scientific purposes, of course) in some of the popular "substances" of the 60's hippie culture when they chose Beck. )
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Post by herald7 on Oct 25, 2011 22:12:52 GMT -5
Boy, did the Greenguys ever mess up when they picked J.J. Beck! They really screwed up big time! Which shows that they may be technologically advanced, but are far from infallible. Very true, I mean remember it was THEIR planet that got destroyed first, hehe.
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Post by prometheus74 on Oct 26, 2011 1:54:28 GMT -5
LOL
Yeah, we tend to see them as these superior beings-----both in terms of intelligence, and technologically. But perhaps they're just a bunch of intergalactic goofs? ;D
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Post by herald7 on Oct 27, 2011 17:37:02 GMT -5
LOL Yeah, we tend to see them as these superior beings-----both in terms of intelligence, and technologically. But perhaps they're just a bunch of intergalactic goofs? ;D Do you watch the Nostalgia Critic? He pointed that out recently, "Why do super intelligent aliens always seem to crash their ships?!" Lol
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Post by prometheus74 on Oct 28, 2011 0:57:24 GMT -5
LOL That's a good one!
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Post by herald7 on Oct 28, 2011 12:53:28 GMT -5
Yeah lol, he's great. If anyone doesn't know, Nostalgia Critic is a guy online who reviews old TV shows and movies from the '80s and '90s. His reviews are often pretty brutal but usually in a good natured way, lol.
I doubt he'd ever review Greatest American Hero because he seems to avoid things that are Pre-1985. But I think he could easily review something like Baby: The Secret of the Lost Legend. I don't mean that in a mean way or anything, just think he could have fun with it, hehe.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Oct 31, 2011 17:46:32 GMT -5
I can see your point to a degree on JJ Beck. Ironically, his sidekick reminds me more of Ralph.
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